


Later Alligator

by cedar_sap_curtains



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, I’m bad at tagging....., M/M, Rating May Change, Robin is there to tease croc what more could u ask for, Slow Burn, conning your man into going out on a date, crocodile cares more than he’s willing to admit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:05:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cedar_sap_curtains/pseuds/cedar_sap_curtains
Summary: Sometimes you have to con your crush into going on a date with you.





	1. Ulterior Motives

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t have a beta reader so uh we ride and die in this club.

Eyes. That was the first thing Sir Crocodile had thought about Donquixote Doflamingo at today’s warlord meeting. Of course said eyes were, as usual, perpetually covered with the gaudiest looking sunglasses Croc had ever seen. Despite that, somehow he could still feel the younger man’s gaze. The flamingo has been leering at him from across the table as soon as Croc had walked in, his smile hinting at whatever debauchery was likely going on his head. Frankly, it was starting to get on the gator’s nerves, seeing that it made it difficult to concentrate on what the fleet admiral Sengoku was saying.

He rarely attended these meetings at Mariejois, but this one was about black market trading, and troublesome low tier pirates selling stollen goods. These are just amateurs in his opinion, but they were causing enough of a stir on the Grand Line that getting some warlords on their trail would be convenient for the marines. Crocodile considered he might do away with them to bolster his status as warlord and effectively keep any potential information about Baroque Work’s operations from bubbling to the surface. This underworld business was apparently something he and Doflamingo shared a mutual interest in. He shot the flamboyant pirate a glare and turned his gaze back to the trade routes Sengoku was presenting. The bastard gave a self satisfied grin at having caught Croc’s attention and kicked his feet up on the table.

“Is this really something the navy needs warlords to handle? You guys must be pretty short handed, fufu.” Doflamingo interrupted.

The others at the meeting gave him a dirty look, much to his amusement.

“Quiet down boy, you came here on your own accord, run your mouth somewhere else.” Vice admiral Tsuru said calmly.

“Hehehe, sincerest apologies ma’am, just voicing a concern here. And can we at least get some drinks, you think this job would come with a few more benefits!”

“Are you quite done?” Sengoku looked like a father exhausted from dealing with a bratty child.

Crocodile wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cringe at the scene the feathered pirate was causing. The other two warlords in attendance, Bartholomew Kuma and Boa Hancock didn’t seem any more amused than the ranked officers. It an impressive turn out for a meeting like this. The black market was booming industry for pirates, it only made sense it would attract high profile figures. He suspected Doflamingo had an ulterior motive for derailing the conversation.

Speaking of, now he was climbing onto the table and sitting cross-legged at its center directly in front of Sengoku.

“No I’m not actually. Fleet admiral, you’ve been awfully quiet about who is supplying these thugs with their contraband. Correct me if I’m wrong,” his voice oozed with malice, “it would seem as though you’ve been waiting for us to fill that answer in for you. Methinks that would pretty incriminating for a government employee, pirate or not.”

“This is going nowhere.” Mumbled Mozambia. A general drone of agreement came from his colleagues.

Boa Hancock turned up her nose pompously and crossed her arms. “Agreeing with a man like Donquixote Doflamingo is beneath me, but if his insinuations are true then I refuse to partake in the rest of this meeting.”

Kuma spoke in his soft voice, “I’m inclined to feel as though you are withholding information Admiral Sengoku.”

Now everyone’s attention seemed focused on Sir Crocodile. His lip twitched in annoyance, there was nothing he hated more than being in the limelight when it didn’t suit his plan. He was unsure of what to say, damn flamingo.

“Come on gator-boy, I know you’re holed up in Alabasta. I heard their king dabbles in dance powder, you must have a hook and handful dealing with thugs like these.” Doflamingo interjected.

Croc grit his teeth, the bastard is too nosy. “It certainly is a problem in Alabasta. We all know the warlords and the navy don’t get along. So why go grandstanding it around like it’s big news. These greenhorns will be stamped out just like the rest of them.”

Doflamingo’s gaze lingered on him a moment longer, his grin diabolically wide before turning his attention back to the fleet admiral.

“There you have it, so tell us what you know or drop the pretense.”

As much as it frustrated him, Crocodile applauded his ability to control the room and put the navy on edge. Most the time the warlords just put up with nasty attitude of their employers. Still he’d need to have a word with the bastard when this ended. Clearly he knows something.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohohoho hang in there Sir Crocodile!! The coming chapters will be longer, didn’t want to hang around introductions too long.


	2. What’s The Name of The Game?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crocodile is bamboozled?!

Finally, the damn meeting was over. Crocodile wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Even as a man of luxury, the stuffy gilded atmosphere of the city always rubbed him the wrong way. But first, he had to speak with that big pink idiot. Doflamingo had been quick to leave the room when they were dismissed. He pulled a transponder snail from his coat on the way out, presumably to relay any newly acquired information. Croc spied a few stray pink feathers on the marbled floor… Well, at least he wouldn’t be hard to find.

Croc followed the trail to find Doflamingo lying on his back in a windowsill. His long legs were propped up high against the wall so his body formed an L shape. He looked rather serene with the golden afternoon sun refracting through his coat, the older man wondered if his eyes were closed behind the sunglasses. He was still on his transponder snail his tone was casual as he spoke into the receiver. What an undignified buffoon.

Croc cleared his throat, “Ahem.”

Doflamingo looked over at him, “Heheh, looks like I’ll have to call you back, later Vergo.” He clicked the snail off and stuffed it in his pocket. “Who do I have to thank for the pleasure of your company, Croco-boy?”

“Sit up strait, you know why I’m here.”

“Fufufu right down to business as always.” The tall man shifted into an upright position, his long legs crossed over each other. The dark magenta pants paired with his coat really personified his name.

“If you’re looking to get your ass kicked, then keep mouthing off.”

The flamingo just smirked. “So unpleasant!” Not that it phased him. “Anyways if you want to talk about your little sandbox we should find a new venue. Celestial Dragons have pretty good ears y’know.”

Begrudgingly that was something Croc would have to agree on. This palace would be crawling with World Government agents. He sighed.

“My ship or yours?”

“Oh I didn’t come by ship!”

Croc gave him an indignant look and Doflamingo shrugged.

“My devil fruit is pretty useful.”

He’s only ever seen the fruit’s creepy puppeteering. The remark made him ponder the nature of the flamingo’s power. Probably something simple a smart man could get a lot of utility from. Still creepy though.

“Uh-huh… I’m sure. Follow me.”

The dark haired man turned on his heel and headed towards the main gate of the Mariejois palace. He was thankful the bird didn’t try to make small talk on the descent to the eastern shore of the Redline where Crocodile’s elegant vessel waited. It was a beautiful ship, with the large Baroque Works emblem painted on its sails and a golden bananagator serving as its figurehead.

Doflamingo of course loved it, he was a man of expensive flashy tastes and he adored seeing Crocodile’s wealth unashamedly on display.

“Nice ship!” He exclaimed.

Croc merely grunted a vague, “Thanks.”

“Now now, no need to hold your tongue we’re not in the dragon’s palace anymore.” He said as he boarded behind the older man. His words were ignored as he was led to the captain’s cabin. When inside Crocodile took a seat behind a large desk, he motioned for his guest to take the seat opposite of him which Doflamingo did.

“Alright out with it you bastard. What do you know that you think will give you some sort of leverage over me.”

“Fufufu, clearly enough to make you suspicious.”

Crocodile felt himself getting more frustrated by the second. He took a moment to light up a cigar to try and calm his nerves.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Will you? I’m not sure you’ve given me enough incentive to tell you what I know. Y’know, I have a lot of customers in line maybe I should get going.”

Croc grit his teeth, “Name your price.”

“Oooh now we’re talking! However, money is cheap. You know what isn’t? Time.”

“I ought to have you pay me for my time you’re wasting on this blathering Doflamingo.”

“Ah-hah that’s just that!” He slammed his hands on the desk, sitting up halfway from his seat. “Your time, you see I have a proposal and I can’t imagine a busy man like you has time that isn’t worth more than a few million berries a day.”

Then he stood up to his full height and circled round behind Crocodile.

“You’ve caught on pretty quick so I’ll let you in on a few things. I’m well aware you’ve been smuggling dance powder in to black mail the sandbox’s king.” He placed his hands on the corners of Croc’s chair leaning down to speak into his ear, sending an unpleasant shiver down his spine. “And I’m aware there is a little rebellion brewing on the horizon. Pretty smart pitting those two sides against each other.”

“What good does blackmailing me do, you’ll just lower the navy’s opinion of the warlord system.” Croc was rigid where he sat, refusing to let this fool intimidate him.

“Well I’m glad I’ve caught your attention.”

“You have it because you’re threateni-“

Abruptly, Doflamingo swiveled the chair around so that the older man was facing him, caged between his arms. He crouched down a bit so they would be at eye level. However, all Croc could see was his own perturbed reflection in those awful sunglasses.

“I propose we work together for a while.”

Crocodile’s lip twitched in annoyance.

“In your dreams, jackass.”

“Fufufu! How cruel you are! You know I only want to see you succeed, it’s guaranteed with my help~”

This punk was pushing his luck and it earned him the older man’s golden hook dangerously close to his face.

“Sit. Back. Down.” His hook pressed against the younger man’s chin. The bird seemed to contemplate the command for a moment. He cracked a smile and licked the curve of the hook in a slow obscene manner.

“Doflamingo?!” He swiftly pulled the prosthetic-weapon away. The slightest blush tinging his cheeks.

“C’mon, don’t go pointing that thing at me unless you mean it. That was a pretty lame bluff, Crocodile.”

Nonetheless he backed off. Doflamingo’s hand lingered on the back of the older man’s chair as he circled back around and plopped back into his seat.

“Hardly. You’re just a freak.” He grumbled. “Next time you won’t find I’m so charitable with my mercy.”

“Next time huh? Speaking of, I think this meeting has more or less accomplished everything it needed to.” He reached into his coat and procured a transponder snail and an eternal log-pose labeled ‘Dressrosa’ and set them on the desk. The snail was different from the one he had before, it had a pink feathery fringe and stupid matching sunglasses. “I’ll be in touch.”

“You’ll be in touch…” Anger and embarrassment swirled in Crocodile’s chest.

“Yep!”

The older man scowled at him. Doflamingo cocked his head to the side like some stray dog.

“Oh don’t give me that look, you can relax I’ve got other business to take care of before we talk details.” He stood up to make his exit.

“You are insufferable!”

“Thanks!~”

“That’s not a compliment!”

Doflamingo was already at the door. Crocodile used his power to dissolve into sand to try and catch up, by the the time he was on the deck of his ship, Doflamingo was already gone. A pink feather drifted down slowly from the sky.

“Damn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read this this out loud to my friend in their car. Lmao uh anyways enjoy!


	3. Under Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta reader! If we die we die

Sir Crocodile burst back into the office aboard his ship after barking out orders to set sail. He huffed and slumped back down in his large leather chair lighting up another cigar.

“Boy troubles?”

Croc’s shoulders jolted up at the intruding voice. He quickly looked up to see his subordinate Nico Robin perched on the corner of his desk.

“Ah… it’s you. I’ve told you before not to lurk around like that.” The monotone of his voice betrayed the clear bout of paranoia in his stiff posture.

She raised her hands in a gentle surrender. “I was just following your orders, you did instruct me to meet you here after your excursion in Mariejois was done. Picture my shock when I saw you come aboard with Donquixote Doflamingo in tow.”

“Trust me it wasn’t a voluntary decision.” He grumbled.

Robin raised a questioning eyebrow at him, her lips curving upward.

“I don’t pay you to patronize me, Miss. All Sunday.”

She chuckled, “I don’t think I’ve seen you so worked up before, that’s all. Mr. Donquixote must be the real deal then?”

Crocodile sighed, if Nico Robin wasn’t instrumental to his plan to take over Alabasta he surely would’ve turned her in for that 80 million berry bounty a while ago. He took a long drag off his cigar and blew out a cloud of smoke, relaxing slightly.

“He’s just a control freak who likes being in everyone’s business, nothing more.”

“You know, that sounds eerily familiar to another warlord I know.”

The gator gave her a sharp look. She just smiled coyly, then scooted off the desk. “What I mean is you’re both intelligent men with a lot of resources.”

“And?”

She picked up the eternal log-pose that the flamingo had left behind, a slender finger traced along the engraved letters. “I can’t imagine there isn’t any trouble in paradise.”

“You want to get information about Doflamingo? Or are you looking for an excuse to go to the New World to play archeologist.”

“You’re really irritated today aren’t you?” She set the log-pose back down. “My intention is your first suggestion. I would like a chance to read the poneglyph in Alabasta, can’t have someone muddying up your plan.”

“I see. Fine, report back to me as soon as you learn something worthwhile. Be as covert as possible.”

She sauntered over to him, placing her hand delicately on his jaw. “Have I ever failed you?”

He half heartedly swatted it away. “Yeah, yeah. You’re dismissed.”

“Aye-aye!” Robin flashed a knowing grin and took her leave.

Troublesome woman… She was getting a little too bold. Although, not that Croc would ever admit it, he liked having an employee that didn’t cower beneath his feet like a bug. And he enjoyed her resourcefulness even if she was haughty from time to time. Her, more so than many of the talented individuals he’s hired, is an irreplaceable asset it’d be foolish not to keep her around.

Still, nerve of her to compare him to Doflamingo! Sure he is some big success with his own kingdom in the New World, but he didn’t have to face Whitebeard in his earlier days. Spoiled brat. Who the hell does he think he is! Just where, who, and how Doflamingo getting this information on him?

This business proposal must be something pretty lucrative for a warlord of the flamingo’s status to be going out of his way to talk to him like that. That’s got to be it, it must be… An unwelcome heat rushed to Crocodile’s cheeks as he recalled the the younger man’s tongue slowly tracing the curve of his hook. He massaged his temple and pushed his hair back, whatever it is it’s not going to get in his way! He’d have to start thinking of contingency plans to accommodate his little flamingo problem.

The journey back to Alabasta was all smooth sailing. Unfortunately, the whirlpool of turbulence continued to spin in Crocodile’s mind. He barely had the energy to smile and wave at the Alabastans who crowded the streets to welcome their ‘hero’ back. Between being saving face for the gullible locals and having to take the slow camel pulled carriage ride to Rain Base, especially when his devil fruit would make the trip in minutes, Crocodile was at his wits end. After what felt like an eternity, he was back in his sanctuary beneath his casino.

He sunk into a big arm chair positioned to have a view of the bananagator’s feeding area, sipping a glass of rum on ice. Watching the massive creatures glide around through the water brought him some semblance of peace. They’re the perfect animal he thought, vicious but calm and content to live unbothered by the world around them. He swirled the ice around his glass and finished off the drink contemplating having another. It’s a cliché, but it really does takes the edge off. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Just peace and-

Tip tap tip tap!

The sound of hurried footsteps on the marble floor. His eyebrows knit together furiously.

“Mr. 0, s-sir!” Came the breathless stammering voice of a nameless Baroque Works agent, one of the Billions not worth knowing their code name. “After your arrival in port Erumalu th-“

“What could be so important that this couldn’t be told me over a transponder call, I don’t need you lackeys acting as messengers.” There was a light clink as he set his drink down on the glass table in front of him. Crocodile’s voice was calm, but his aura radiated danger. The agent gulped fearfully.

“A-after your arrival sir, a h-huge unexpected shipment came in f-from a b-broker we don’t do business with!”

And just like that, the dam of Crocodile’s patience burst, and anger flooded his senses. He stood from his seat and closed the distance between them. Grabbing the Billions agent by the collar of their shirt, he yanked him up into the air using his height to his advantage.

“You morons let an unknown factor come onto to _my_ shores just like that!! Do you think the operations taking place here are a joke!?”

“N-no!!” The pitch of the agent’s voice was substantially higher, if they had any hopes of climbing the Baroque Works ladder they were replaced with the mere hope they’d make it out of this encounter alive. “We were deceived! There was nothing o-out of the ordinary at first!! But when we came to do the inspection we were overpowered and held hostage.” Croc’s grip tightened. “They threatened to make a huge bloody mess of Erumalu if we didn’t send this message to our boss as soon as we could!!”

“You useless imbeciles!” He dropped the agent letting them fall to the floor roughly. Croc turned away, he was watching the bananagators again. “What’s the message.”

“H-here!” The agent held out a sealed envelope. He faced the agent only for a moment to take the letter from them. Then turned away once more, leaving them behind frozen with fear.

“You’re dismissed. Do take the exit on the left.”

Crocodile didn’t look to see if his orders were followed. He heard the agent scramble to their feet and rush to the exit. Followed by the surprised shout as they triggered a trap door mechanism. The sound of the door slamming shut and a muffled cry for help. A twisted smirk spread on the warlord’s face.

“Oops, I meant the right.” He poured himself another glass of rum and watched the agent plop out into the feeding zone. Crocodile laughed his slow maniacal laugh as one of his large pets made swift work of swallowing the agent whole.

After that, Croc stared indignantly at the paper in his hand. This has Doflamingo written all over it, from the pink tint of the paper to sheer guts it would take to send a group of bandits to take his workers hostage. Just as he was about to open the letter, the transponder snail in his coat sounded off. Croc picked it up.

“Mr. 0 sir!!” Came a frantic voice.

Ah, another useless agent. Probably one of the ones in Erumalu.

“I’ve received the message.” He hung up immediately.

The warlord would go deal with that problem in a moment. With his devil fruit the conflict would be over in a matter of minutes. Judging by the nature of his enemy’s attack all they were told to was get this letter to him, preferably, as quiet as possible. They’ll keep their word so long as that happened. He turned his focus back to the letter, using his hook to tear it open.

Dear Mr. 0,

A whisper from the waves told me Alabasta is in crisis. Please accept my humble offering of food and supplies for the cause. We’ve yet to do business together and that’s a shame given your reputation. I’ll be in touch, 2200 hours.

Love,  
Joker

Crocodile crumpled the paper and threw it to the ground. Doflamingo you bastard!

Before Crocodile could even begin to think about the letter and Doflamingo, he had to deal with the situation in Erumalu. He stormed outside dissolving into a cloud of sand and flew to the port town. The ship sent by this ‘Joker’ character was easy enough to spot, it was a massive New World style galleon. Not something one would normally see in this hemisphere. He rematerialized on its deck.

“Hm.. quiet.”

Crocodile made his way further below deck. The scene he found was almost comical like something from an over-romanticized pirate novel, his Baroque Works agents along with the helpless civilian sailors of the ship were hogtied their eyes wide with fear. While a group of seedy looking pirates sat around drinking and sharpening their swords trying to look intimidating.

“So are you gonna cooperate Crocodile or we gonna hafta start offing a few of these sailors to make the boss’s message clear?”

Oh these poor saps. Doflamingo must’ve lied to them copiously if they thought this fight was going to be remotely winnable on their side. This was great, he could see the headlines now ‘Sir Crocodile Saves Erumalu!’. Putting on his hero persona and spoke coolly.

“I don’t make deals with scum like you.” Then immediately dissipated into sand and created a vortex around his enemies. It took barely a minute to turn the bandits into nothing but dried up corpses. His employees and the sailors were left without a scratch.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” He said as he used his hook to cut the ropes of the captives. Of course he received nothing but an excessive myriad of ‘thank you’s’ and ‘how can we ever repay you’s’.

“Really it’s nothing.” He waved them off. “I’ll be sure to have a crew come clean this up.”

The reception he received once he got off the ship was just as excited as the sailors were.

“Sir Crocodile we were so scared!! Those pirates made a big show of calling you out!” One woman cried out.

“That’s our desert king!” Shouted an aging merchant.

Crocodile smiled at the crowd as they cheered for him, and for once it was actually genuine. This had really played out in his favor! Although, the respite from his fellow warlord’s torment didn’t last as a creeping feeling that he was playing right into Doflamingo’s hands began to close in. It was definitely time to return to the casino.

Croc turned away and gave a nonchalant wave to the people of Erumalu, “I’m just doing what is right for Alabasta.” leaving behind the cheering chorus of ‘Crocodile! Crocodile!’ while using his devil fruit ability to return to his casino for the final time that night.

As soon as he was back to his underground palace, the first thing Croc did was retrieve the letter he so graciously crumpled and threw to the ground. He unfolded it and re-examined the words. The moonlight refracted through the large aquarium windows and danced along the surface of the paper. Joker… he’s heard of the name before in the black market, Crocodile found himself a little surprised he hadn’t suspected this broker to be Doflamingo before. He laughed to himself. The name is a dead give away.

Letting out a heavy sigh he sat down at his desk, turning on the lamp so he could see clearly. It had already been past sunset when his useless Billions agent had clambered in. Which meant it was certainly past 22 o’clock at this point. He doubted Doflamingo would have tried calling so soon given he masterminded that circus with the supply ship. What kind of lunatic pays to send a bunch of supplies sent halfway across the ocean and pays another group of fools to attack it just to send a letter? He supposed Robin was right when she said he was well connected.

The warlord set the paper down, there was nothing he could do about it now. And considering how much he used his power, and that he didn’t get to rest after being at sea for a few days during his return trip from Mariejois, Crocodile, rightfully so, was exhausted. The warlord rubbed his temple.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” He looked over to one of his bananagators as if the beast could answer his question. It was, of course, totally indifferent to its master’s woes. “And now I’m talking to the reptiles…”

Crocodile tucked the letter away into his desk. Then sat up and pushed his chair in, he’d had enough for one week. From there took his private elevator from the subterranean office to the penthouse suite on the top floor of Rain Dinners to turn for the evening. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much Doffy in this chapter, next will make up for it time!! Anyways, I love Nico Robin, she’s a gem and I don’t know what we did to deserve her.
> 
> EDITED: I usually decide my chapter splits after I write about 2000 words or so, and looking back I just really didn’t like where I ended chapter 3. So I scraped a bit off of chapter 4s word count :P enjoy!


	4. Ring Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ returning readers!! be sure you’ve read the updated version of chapter 3 before you move on to this one! As usual I have no beta we die in typo hell!

The following days were exceedingly dull. No towns to rescue, paperwork to catch up on, and no calls from a certain feathery pirate. That idiot bastard. He made such a big deal about all of this only to go on radio silence? He stared incredulously at the snail given to him by Doflamingo, it was sleeping peacefully as all transponder snails do. He glanced at the clock on his desk; it read 10:23PM. Well there goes 22 hundred hours again, Doflamingo wouldn’t possibly make the mistake of not accounting for a time zone difference, would he? He looked back at the snail once more. Well there is _one_ way to find out.

The man grit his teeth, like hell he’d personally call Donquixote Doflamingo himself! He crossed his arms and huffed out a frustrated breath. His golden eyes inadvertently found themselves returning to the transponder snail. The warlord’s distractions had finally run out. Fine, why the hell not. Croc picked up the receiver and turned the dial, it only had one recipient it could reach.

 _Peruperuperu_. _Peruperuperu_.

The warlord tapped his hook on the table impatiently.

 _Peruperupe- click_!

Crocodile’s shoulders stiffened and his incessant tapping came to an instant halt.

“Fufu, that was sooner than I expected.” Came the flamingo’s voice smoothly.

Was it possible to hear a person’s smile?

“Doflamingo…”

“The one and only!”

Crocodile had half a mind to stuff the receiver back into the snail’s shell and toss to his bananagators.

“What the hell was that stunt you pulled.”

“Ah, still so quick to the chase. Pity, I was going to wait to talk about that after asking how you’re doing.”

“How do you think I’m doing?” The older man grumbled.

“I’d say probably just fine, did you see those headlines?! They’re eating out of your palm. Good publicity is a great gift yeah?”

“They have been for some time now, I don’t need your help with that!”

“Mm, maybe not, but there are certainly _other_ things I could help you with. I think you know by now I’m aware of Baroque Works real operations. The whole aid and relief thing is pretty cute though.”

“Cute…”

Doflamingo laughed at this. “Let’s backtrack a little, I said I want to do business not blackmail you.”

“Okay…then why bother talking to me as yourself, Mr. 0 and Joker could have easily done this without all of the unnecessary farce.”

“Your sense of spectacle is sorely lacking! Truth be told, I set up that little game for you as a back up in case you hadn’t come to Mariejois.”

“That’s absurd, why bother with all that for you just to say ‘you’d be in touch’ and then not call me?”

“Aw so you were you waiting on my call? I’m honored. I’d planned on contacting you soon, so don’t get mad. Besides, I left you some office hours in my note in case you got impatient.”

This man had more foresight than someone with as much gravitas as him deserved. He thought about Robin comparing the two of them. Powerful, well connected, and also apparently both meticulous planners.

“Well, I, would rather not meander around the point so much.” Croc said, the bitter edge to his words was loud and clear.

“Alright alright, lets see where were we?”

“Business you moron!”

“Relax, babe, I know. Anyways, business! Get me one of your agents in on the side of Alabasta’s revolutionaries and let me sell them weapons.”

“And that’s your only angle?”

Croc immediately regretted replying so quickly once he registered the fact he’d just been referred to as ‘babe’. Agh, he’d deal with that later, the feather brain was finally about to talk deals and he didn’t want to interrupt at this point.

“Mm, you should let me sell weapons to the royal army as well.” Ha, that’s funny thought Crocodile.

“I highly doubt anyone in his royal stingy-ness’s court would be interested in making backdoor deals.”

Unbeknownst to Crocodile, Doflamingo had a smile for the ages. This was the first thing the gator had said that wasn’t utterly hostile.

“Oh we can work around that, the upper echelon of the military ranks might be loyal to Cobra, but the foot soldiers on the front lines are bound to more fickle when it comes to weapons that would decide whether or not they’re just canon fodder.”

The bird had a point, one Crocodile found legitimately intriguing.

“I do have agents in their ranks…” He mumbles, more to himself than anything. Still loud enough for the other man to hear.

“You’ve already got half the work done see!”

“That doesn’t cover all of the details, it’s not like they’re buying bread at a market!”

“Correct. I propose we work out the rest of these details at a later date however.”

“I haven’t agreed to any deal yet.”

“Hehehe, I get that! I don’t expect you to, but look, there is a lot to unpack here. Don’t you think it’d be better to have a bit of a one on one.”

“We’re having one right now.”

“I meant live and in person.”

“Uh huh… and I suppose you expect me to come all the way to Dressrosa to talk to you.”

“Yep, basically!” The flamingo replied cheerfully.

“Let’s meet halfway at Sabaody.”

“Sabaody?”

“Yeah, we meet there or this conversation is over.”

Doflamingo remained silent in contemplation. Crocodile grinned at the small victory of making the younger warlord shut up for once.

“… That’s fine. How about in a week’s time we meet at the port on island 27.”

“Two weeks.”

“Mm _so_ demanding Sir Crocodile~”

“Do we have a deal or not?” He snapped tersely, internally grateful that the heat rushing through his cheeks was visible to nobody but the banagators that swam lackadaisically through their moat.

“It’s a deal!”

“One more thing don’t call me babe!”

“Oh no the connection-“ the bird interrupted himself by making a poor attempt at a transponder static sound, “is fading I can’t hear you!”

“Doflamingo…”

“I guess it’s -kssshch- goodbye for now~!”

“Doflamingo!”

“Pack a nice suit! Later babe!”

 _Click_!

Crocodile stared blankly at the receiver in his hand. The actual real transponder static that was now coming from the snail mirrored the mess his mind was in. He shook his head and put the receiver back on the snail’s shell letting it fall back into hibernation till its next use. Sabaody in two weeks huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the alternate version of this chapter goes like this:  
> *crocodile calls doflamingo*  
> Doflamingo voice: crocodile plz come to my island and raw me 
> 
> Asdhhsjdj I’m so sorry,, anyways I hope you guys keep enjoying this fic!


	5. So Long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta reader just me trying to edit as much as my brain can take before sending my fics into the ether for y’all to find ✊😩💦

Sleep did not want to cooperate with Sir Crocodile in the two weeks that followed his conversation with Mr. Donquixote. This problem seemed to plague him further as the days preceding his departure dwindled down to zero. Much to his chagrin that tall blonde was the only thing on his mind when he lay down and close his eyes, striding gracefully through his thoughts with those long legs of his. He’d even halfway considered calling the bird again to tell him the deal was off, but decided better of it. Tomorrow he’d be leaving for Sabaody. He most certainly wasn’t anxious, how could somebody like him be anxious, that’d be utterly preposterous!

Sun filtered through the sheer curtains in Crocodile’s penthouse atop the Rain Dinners Casino, the light intruded on the warlord’s desire to remain in bed. He rolled away from the offending sunbeams and pulled his sheets above his head. It’s just a business deal, he’s made hundreds of them, with shadier people to boot. He tried imagining their meeting. They’d be sitting at a table he supposed, but the rest of the scene he couldn’t quite piece together. No words about financial dealings appeared in his fictitious scenario, just off handed compliments spoken with a licentious tone from the flamingo. Why he chooses to mock him in this way still eludes Crocodile. The only clear image in his mind was the soft edges of Doflamingo’s feathery coat contrasting his sharp features, his debonair smile as usual, and of course those damn sunglasses. He wanted to pluck those wretched sunglasses off that smug face and hurl them into the sea. The warlord was beginning to despise the fact he can’t properly read the man without being able to see his eyes, and he’d have to spend a majority of their upcoming encounter doing just that.

“Sir Crocodile, are you in here?”

Nico Robin… why does she always have the worst timing?

“Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep.” He groaned.

“I can now, sir.” She said as she opened the curtains, bathing the large room with bright Alabastan sun. “Although, it’s a little late to still be in bed, boss.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Is that so?” She snickered. “Pretty ironic for a sandman.”

“You want to run that by me one more time?” He mumbled with an air of malice.

Robin was probably lucky he didn’t see her roll her eyes.

“Well, I did as you asked and have been gathering intel on Mr. Donquixote.”

That managed to catch Croc’s attention, he leaned up to look over his shoulder at her.

“What did you find out?”

Robin gave an enigmatic smile.

“Plenty of things, but let’s talk about this downstairs after you’ve had breakfast, well I suppose it’d be lunch now.” She giggled as she sauntered away.

After watching her disappear behind the door she came through, the warlord gave an audible ‘urgh’ and face planted back into his pillow. These next few days were going to be long, he would just have to endure it. Finally, he rolled out of bed and got ready for the day.

“Pack a nice suit..” Croc grumbled to himself as he tied his cravat. Doflamingo wouldn’t know how to dress himself if a three piece suit and tie came and dunked him in the ocean! He let out a long drawn out sigh, maybe this meant Doflamingo would at least be making an attempt to show some class. Two warlords meeting at Sabaody would probably garner some attention from the papers.

Once his hair was slicked back into its signature style, he took the elevator that lead from his suite to his underwater office. Robin was already waiting for him by his desk reading a book, his bananagators didn’t acknowledge him either so presumably they’d been fed already. A minor regret, feeding them was one of his favorite parts of his daily routine. Just one more thing he could be mad at Doflamingo for.

“Well, what did you learn?” Croc said as he took his seat.

She set her book down and leaned over the table, “Well to start, Joker and Doflamingo are the same person-“

“I already knew that.”

Robin gave him an unimpressed looked and continued on, “Which you already knew. So it doesn’t really benefit since he knows your broker alias.” She paused and looked at him expecting to be interrupted again. Crocodile just frowned at her and lit up a cigar. The scholar smiled at the small success of forcing patience out of her boss. “Speaking of names, do you think Donquixote is a interesting family name?”

“I suppose it is..”

“It’s a name Celestial Dragons wish to wipe from history.” Her words were steady, but Crocodile could sense there was a quiet rage beneath them. He was speaking to Ohara’s cursed child after all. History is quite the valuable thing to her.

“Well then what’s the connection? I only have so much time on my hands Nico Robin.” He reminded.  
  
“Donquixote Doflamingo is, well, was a Celestial Dragon. It’s lucky you chose Alabasta as your base, as it so happens that Doflamingo’s late father was a friend of King Cobra Nefertari.”

Crocodile wasn’t sure how to process that information. It certainly painted the man in a different light, and at the same time it made utter sense. So much sense he was shocked that he hadn’t been able to tell. Then again, no average person pirate or not would honestly care that much about the goings ons of the royal families of Mariejois.

“Hm.. that is interesting, and you’re sure of it?”

“Absolutely, I’ve been speaking with many of Alabasta’s historians. They’re proud of their heritage, you see their royal family turned down a place at Mariejois all those hundreds of years ago, but have a seat at Reverie. The kings allies were always made note of, they wouldn’t try to erase the Donquixote family in the way the Dragons want to.”

“I see.” Crocodile hummed to himself. “What else did you discover, anything about his devil fruit ability?”

“No unfortunately not.”

Robin then proceeded to explain to him the details of the key members of the Donquixote family and their internal ranking system, and the curiosities of Dressrosa like the islands mysterious toy inhabitants, and the incident that lead to Doflamingo taking the throne. “-of course, there’s no evidence to prove Doflamingo had any involvement in King Riku’s betrayal. It is suspect in my opinion given his nature. Do what you will with this information.”

“Mhm.” Crocodile was deep in thought by the end of their conversation. Nico Robin proved yet again to be an invaluable asset to him. It wasn’t as much as he’d like, but it was enough. “You’re dismissed, although I can’t give you time off until I return from Sabaody. I want you to stay extremely vigilant and keep track of all vessels entering Alabasta’s shores.”

“Of course, shall I be seeing you off then?” She teased.

The warlord glanced at clock on his desk, between his late start and briefing with Robin, it was time to leave Rainbase and head into whatever clown festival Doflamingo has prepared for him.

“Thanks,” he said flatly then stood up and plucked his coat off the back of his leather chair and pulled it loosely around his shoulders, “but I’ll pass.”

The voyage to the archipelago of trees was unremarkable, as were most of of Crocodile’s trips across the sea. Not many people are willing to mess with a warlord of the sea. Except Doflamingo, which as the main concern, but all was quiet. They landed at the port on island 27 of Sabaody around noon, it had officially been two weeks since they’d last spoke. The weather was mild and the sun glinted off the gentle bubbles that floated up from the mangroves. Towards the end of the dock an old man, definitely a local, was running up to meet Crocodile halfway.

“Pardon me! Sir Crocodile Warlord of the Sea!! I was sent by Donquixote Doflamingo. If you will, please follow me.”

It’s not as if he really had a choice. So he let the messenger lead him to one of the bubble powered vehicles similar to a rickshaw commonly used on these islands. He did his best to avoid making eye contact with the locals as they drove through town, but he saw the variety of expressions; fear, astonishment, admiration. It was only a short jaunt from the docks to town, the old man stopped outside of a bar on the main street.

“Mr. Donquixote is waiting inside. Thank you for your patience.”

Crocodile gave a perfunctory ‘meh’ and exited the vehicle. He glanced around at his surroundings one more time, it was a pirate town through and through, not all that different from Whiskey Peak or Mock Town. Steeling himself for the inevitable, he pushed open the double doors of the bar and stepped inside.

The establishment was large, the walls lined with booths and the floor with high tables. At the back was a long bar lined with stools. Sat in the middle of those stools was an unmistakable pink feather coat hanging off it’s owner’s shoulders and nearly touching the floor. There were other patrons too, but they had all readily tucked themselves in the furthest corners of the room in an attempt to be as far away from the feathery warlord as possible.

Momentarily, everyone had turned their attention to Crocodile. It only took a slight glare from the gator to avert all the stares away. All but one, that one gaze perpetually covered by an ugly pair of sunglasses, staring at Croc over his shoulder.

“Gator boy!” Doflamingo swiveled around in his seat, his arms spread in welcome. “You finally made it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the most exciting chapter but the stage is set!! Hope y’all continue to enjoy my fic! Thank u for ur support


	6. Head Over Heels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crocodile can’t seem to catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, no beta here so if there’s a glaring typo I’m sorry! 🙏

“It would certainly seem that way.”

The younger man grinned and patted the seat next to him. “Come sit down, lets have a drink!”

Crocodile obliged his offer, paying no mind to the terrified lowlifes around them.

“Oi! Bar man bring this man something to drink, actually how about a round for the whole place, this atmosphere is far too gloomy for my taste!” He shot a look over his shoulder. Everyone seemly sitting up strait, not daring to be caught out of line in front of the likes of Donquixote Doflamingo.

“I-I’ll have a beer!” One man finally piped up.

“M-me too!”

Swiftly, a chain reaction of a lightened mood surged through the bar, with the waitstaff following the younger warlord’s demands and bringing drinks to everyone. The volume increasing as the patrons began excitedly talking to one another. There he goes again, thought Crocodile, completely dominating the tone of the room just like in Mariejois. It was certainly an impressive skill, that charisma. The bartender slid him a glass of rum and refilled Doflamingo’s glass as well, saying what an honor it was to have such distinguished pirate lords in his bar.

“This was always my favorite rest stop back in my rookie days!” He returned his attention to Crocodile,” Shall we have a toast then? Fufu~”

“To what?”

“Success in the coming era!” He tapped the bottom of his glass to the gator’s, making a soft clink sound. The older man said nothing, but picked up his glass and drank anyways.

“Well then, bird for brain, if you’re ready to talk business, then you have my full attention.”

“Slow down, slow down! You only just got here, this is just the welcoming committee! We can’t discuss business in a dump like this.”

“Implying that trashy isn’t your style?”

“Ha ha ha! Have some faith in me~” He leaned on his elbow on the table resting his cheek on his palm, “Allow me to show you some of the Donquixote family’s operations here on Sabaody first! There are things you need to see before we talk details.”

“These are things related to what we discussed during our call. Right? I didn’t come here to fool around.”

Doflamingo licked his lips before speaking, liking the way his companion’s eyes tracked the movement, “Aw really? That’s a shame.”

“It’s a shame we keep having this conversation.” The older man turned away and leaned over the counter, already beginning to feel exasperated.

“Ah still cruel as ever, and I thought you were beginning to warm up to me.”

“You’re changing the subject again.”

Doflamingo wasted no time invading the gator’s personal space. Reaching a finger out to trace along the golden hook that rested on the table.

“Always so sharp I see, yet still missing some crucial details. Ah well.” He retreated before the older man could swat him away and then clapped his hands together. “Well! Let’s get this show on the road!”

Doflamingo stood up to his impressive height, easily towering over the rest of the patrons.

“Oh bar man, how about one more round for the place? Be sure to put it all on Disco’s tab, fufu~ Today is a great day! It deserves a celebration!”

The two left the bar on that note, the ensuing cheers (and a few sighs of relief) for the great and generous Doflamingo seeing them out. A much larger bon cheri than the first was already waiting outside for the pair. This one was more akin to a stagecoach. Crocodile was glad for the privacy from the curious eyes of the surrounding populous.

“Spared no expense I see.” His tone remained bland.

“Only the best for the best.” The bird replied, his grin unwavering as he opened the back door to let Crocodile in first. There were two rows of seats facing towards one another in the car. Wanting to preserve as much personal space as possible, Croc opted to sit the middle to force Doflamingo to sit opposite of him.

“The best, yet you’d have me drink cheap rum at a crappy bar.”

“Well that’s just the flavor of this port, it’s about the feeling!”

“Uh-huh..”

The older man looked out the window. The feeling it gave him reminded him of his younger days. The pink idiot didn’t need to know that, being sentimental is for the undignified. He looked out the window at the island as they rolled along. Surprisingly enough, Doflamingo didn’t have a snide comment to follow up with. Croc wanted to look at him, try and discover what the silence meant, but he’d just be met with a smile and his reflection in those red lenses. They remained in awkward attrition for a good while. Doflamingo was staring at him though, and Crocodile could feel it. Ultimately, the gator gave in and dared a glance from the corner of his eyes, searching for even the most minute mannerism. Nothing, just that upward curve of his lips and a slight tilt of the head.

“Why do you wear those?” He hadn’t meant to ask.

It was brief, had Crocodile blinked he might’ve missed it, but there was a crack in that grinning armor. It was just a tiny quirk of the lips and a flare of the nostrils. Had his eyes widened behind those frames? Whatever glimpse of man he’d seen was quickly buried with a laugh and a large hand rising up to push those glasses higher on his aquiline nose.

“Not gonna ask where I’m taking you? I appreciate the vote of confidence.” Clever dodge.

Crocodile smirked, something stirred in the warlord, a desire to dig into the man before him. To pull apart the façade and see his bleeding human heart.

“Nope.” He stared directly into those shades, challenging him.

“Heh. Crocodile, you need to expand your sense of style!” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, latticing his fingers and resting his chin on them. Still avoiding his companion’s question.

Croc leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, he supposed getting a strait answer any time soon wasn’t going to be an easy task. He looked Doflamingo up and down. Aside from the standard feather mantle, the bird wore a white button up (unbuttoned) that had a boisterous floral pattern and bright orange pants that cut off at his shins, with umber pointed-toe leather shoes.

“Style… is that what you call it?”

Doffy snickered, “Maybe you could give me some tips sometime.” His voice was all honey and wine,” I do admire that refined look of yours, it’s quite handsome.”

Crocodile looked back out the window, the warmth surging through his cheeks was enough to embarrass him for a lifetime. Was Doflamingo, flirting with him?! That’d be reading way too into it, clearly he just says things to agitate people. “Where exactly are we going again?”

“To my auction house, and the facility where the weapons trading is handled, it’s all on island 1. Then, I have reservations for dinner tonight!” He smiled sweetly.

“Right and what point in this plan of yours gives me time to check into my hotel.”

“Oh, fufufu, about that. I’ve had your crew redirected so your luggage is on its way to my personal estate on island 5.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Well we never really ironed out the details so I told my people to intercept yours, it’s more convenient that way.” Doflamingo shrugged nonchalantly.

Crocodile stood up not caring that the bon cheri car was still in motion and grabbed Doflamingo’s shirt by collar and loomed over him.

“What makes you think you can just control all of these things however you please!”

The bird was relaxed as ever. “You should sit down it’s not the best idea to stand in a moving vehicle.”

“Don’t patronize m-“ And as if the temptation of fate had a particular vendetta against Sir Crocodile, the driver of their bon cheri hit the brakes to avoid hitting a stray animal on the path. Sending the poor man to lurch forward into his fellow warlord’s lap.

“See?” Totally not bothered in the slightest that Crocodile was basically straddling him. Bold hands held the older man’s waist to balance him. The touch felt like the heat of the desert sun and it sent warm adrenaline through Croc’s veins. “I told-“

A ringed hand came up to manually silence the younger man.

“Not another word.”

Then released his grip so said hand could balance himself as he slid off of the younger man and slumped back into his seat. Doflamingo obeyed the command, but it didn’t do much to wipe the wry self satisfied smile from his face. Croc crossed his arms and focused his attention the scenery passing by. Absolutely refusing to look in the bird’s direction. 

The pair sat in an awkward silence for the remainder of the ride. Maybe just awkward for Crocodile, Doflamingo was having a great time. The quiet only lasted around twenty minutes as the car came to a gentle stop. Finally arriving at their destination.

”Ah were here!” Doflamingo’s voice came cheerfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive feedback! Y’all have really encouraged me to keep at it ☺️✌️


	7. Take A Chance On Me

“Where, again, is here exactly?” Crocodile asked as he stepped out of the bon cheri.

Doflamingo raised his hands theatrically. “It’s my auction house!”

“Uh-huh…” Crocodile crossed his arms still annoyed, and a bit underwhelmed.

“Not impressed?”

“Not particularly. Nor am I particularly interested in that trade. It’s an alright building, I suppose.”

“Well,” He spoke as they made their way to the entrance, “it’s not nearly as impressive as my other facilities in the New World, and nowhere close to as elegant as the architecture in Dressrosa, but somebody didn’t want to make the effort to go there.”

Once at the building’s double doors the bird opened one side and held it chivalrously for his guest. Which Croc ignored and opened the other door to let himself in.

“Go to your own turf so you can harass me without reservations? Yeah I don’t think so.”

“Harassment!? Aw Crocodile you should know I don’t mean any harm.”

“Yeah and the sun rises in the West I’m sure.”

“You are positively cold blooded~” He cooed.

“Ha hah. Good one, Joker.”

Crocodile took a few steps through the lobby. On closer inspection, it really was a lovely work of architecture though it didn’t do much to shake his disdain for this brand of underworld dealings. He watched Doflamingo intently as he led him around, flaunting the location’s many structural details and boasting about the profit it turns each month. The gator began to wonder if this auction house was some sort of compensation for his lack of status as a Celestial Dragon, seeing as those mongrels are the types to enjoy these sorts of grotesque tableaus of human and non-human rights. Not that he could say his work is much better, but piracy had a varying degree of honor he conjectured.

After thirty or so minutes of being shown around, Doflamingo toted him up to the royal box that had a nice view of the entire theater. The bird was enthusiastically recounting some tale of a moronic thing one of his crew members had done once. Crocodile just leaned over the railing, half-listening and half-contemplating Doflamingo’s success as a broker, pirate, and king. It was frustrating. Maybe what bothered him was the flamingo’s lack of humility. No, there’s something else. What made him more worthy of success? The man could just decide on a whim to do whatever he pleased! Freedom like that was something only power could grant. Power Crocodile wanted, and power Doflamingo had.

“~and the best part was that Trebol didn’t even know the- Crocodile?”

“Hm?”

“You’re not listening are you?”

“Grand observation.”

Doflamingo couldn’t seem to find his signature smile. His lips pursed in a hard line as the he searched for the next words to say.

“Mink’s got your tongue?”

“No no… look, I get it! This place isn’t your style.” A smile returned to his face, though it lacked the malice and the chauvinism. The desire to see his eyes prodded at Crocodile’s mind once more.

_“What’s the point in maintaining this facade when we’re alone?”_

“What’s the point in being shown this place if it has nothing to do with our business?” Came the more appropriate and logical answer.

“I want to give you faith that an endeavor with me is going to prove lucrative for you.”

“I see.” He glanced at the blonde through the corner of his eye. “Maybe you should’ve just sent me your resume.”

The dim lighting washed out the tropical colors his outfit, the bird was deep in his thoughts once more. Crocodile looked away. He’s probably planning on what stupid thing he’ll say to rile him up or maybe about what horrible things would be on the resume of Donquixote Doflamingo. He didn’t want to guess what the bird was truly thinking. Contemplating that Doflamingo has an ounce of intelligence, even within the sanctuary of his own mind, would concede too much respect.

The bird sidled up next to him and procured a cigar from his fluffy coat and held it out to the older man.

“How about we go outside for a smoke, call it a peace offering.”

The gator eyed him slowly. Well that… wasn’t what he expected. “Is there anything you don’t have in that coat?”

“Want to find out?” And there’s that classic grin.

Croc raised an eyebrow and plucked the cigar from his hand, turning it from side to side.

“If it’s poisoned, I’ll kill you.” He said flatly.

The bird laughed, adoring Crocodile’s dry sarcasm even while being on the receiving end of it, then wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned in close. Their faces mere inches apart.

“Oh naturally! But I’m a dangerous man you know~”

A lingering… something… was caught in the air between them, it seemed to taunt the gator. Just a little closer, it wouldn’t take much. How easy it would be for Crocodile to slide his hand along that cheek and push away the accessory that kept so many secrets for man before him.

“I’ll take my chances.” The gator finally said, cutting through the tension. He easily slipped through the bird’s grasp with his devil fruit power and headed back outside. A smoke would be good he mused. Doflamingo paused momentarily before happily trailing after him.

The outside was lush and cool with a gentle breeze. A light cloud cover rolling in overhead. Crocodile didn’t like the shift in the weather, being out in the rain was absolutely out of the question.

“Ahh this feels nice!” Doflamingo stretched his arms out a bit taking in the atmosphere.

“I prefer the heat.”

“Oh, you really should come to Dressrosa then. It’s always summertime~”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because that’s what I want,” Doflamingo retrieved a lighter and a cigar for himself, “Here let me get that for you.”

He bent down to light the two ends together. Croc closed his eyes and took the moment to enjoy the tobacco in his lungs. He hadn’t had a smoke since arriving and damn did he need it.

Feeling a little more relaxed he looked over to his enigmatic host, who for once wasn’t staring at him, or hopefully wasn’t. Doflamingo was leaning back against the one of the pillars that held up the building’s massive entry archway at the bottom of its front steps. He held the cigar between his index and ring finger, which was bizarre, but then again he’s always been a bizarre guy. Every warlord meeting Doflamingo got involved colored Crocodile’s memory pink. From the strange devil fruit to the way he seemed to pull the curtain of farce away and show the marine’s raw intension, there was always something about it that made him so hard to forget. Crocodile could care less about many of the warlords, and yet here was a man who found a way to stay in his mind.

“Doflamingo? What is it that you _really_ want from me out of this deal?”

The man in question was mid-smoke, but attempted to respond anyway.

“Wha- Ack!” Coughing a bit from the smoke still in his lungs, cigar slipping from his hands and onto the grass. Crocodile raised an eyebrow, he couldn’t tell if he’d caught the younger man off guard or if the idiot was just too eager to respond. Regardless, watching him squirm, even just a little, gave him a crooked and thoroughly entertained grin.

“Clearly nothing good I’m guessing then.” Croc said, and circled around him taking a couple steps back up toward the building so they’d be at eye level.

The bird cleared his throat, “Definitely not!”

“So ‘yes’ I take it? Figures.” Then the gator smirked, “Don’t smoke often?” He punctuated his word taking a drag and blowing some smoke in Doffy’s direction.

“No!” He exclaimed, clearing his throat for the last time, “ and not nearly as much as I used to.” If Doflamingo was frazzled, he was pretty good at trying to cover it. “But, to get back to the point, what I really want, Sir Crocodile,” he paused and stood up strait, “I want to do good business with you!”

“Uh huh. Alright then, take me to our next destination then.” Croc turned and began walking across the lawn back to the bon cheri. He of course didn’t believe a word out of the flamingo’s mouth, but if he was so determined to keep lying Crocodile would let him. He was a patient man, he can wait for the rose tinted lenses to crack. The fallen cigar was stamped out and abandoned as Doflamingo took a few long strides to catch up to the gator. He bent over the man’s shoulder as they walked and talked.

“Hey now! Are you implying you don’t believe me.”

“Would you rather I say it outright.” Croc got back into the car quickly followed by Doffy.

“No, I’d rather you take a chance on me.”

“Take a chance? Is that the new word for blackmail?”

“Listen! You’re difficult to persuade.”

“I showed up didn’t I? Is that not enough?”

“Maybe.” The bird answered cryptically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hh sorry I haven’t updated in so long, I’ve been sitting on this chapter for a while writing has been a struggle lately... but hh that new illustration Oda put out its so ajdjs yeah!! Feeling inspired to write again! No beta as usual we die like pirates.


End file.
